Geopolitics
Encyclopedia
Geopolitics, from Greek
Γη (earth) and Πολιτική (politics) in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale.
It comprises the art and practice of analyzing, proscribing, forecasting, and the using of political power over a given territory. Specifically, is a method of foreign policy analysis, which seeks to understand, explain and predict international political behaviour primarily in terms of geographical variables. Those geographical variables generally are: geographic location of the country/ies in question, size of the countries involved, climate of the region the countries are in, topography of the region, demography, natural resources available in the territory, technological development.
Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass wider connotations.
In the abstract, geopolitics traditionally indicates the links and causal relationships between political power and geographic space; in concrete terms it is often seen as a body of thought assaying specific strategic prescriptions based on the relative importance of land power and sea power in world history... The geopolitical tradition had some consistent concerns, like the geopolitical correlates of power in world politics, the identification of international core areas, and the relationships between naval and terrestrial capabilities.
Academically, the study of geopolitics involves the analysis of geography
, history
and social science with reference to spatial politics
and patterns at various scales (ranging from the level of the state to international). It is multidisciplinary in its scope, and includes all aspects of the social sciences with particular emphasis on political geography, international relations, the territorial aspects of political science and international law. Also, the study of geopolitics includes the study of the ensemble of relations between the interests of international political actors, interests focused to an area, space, geographical element or ways, relations which create a geopolitical system.
(1864–1922), a Swedish political scientist, inspired by the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel
, whose book Politische Geographie (political geography
) was published in 1897. It was later popularized in English by the hungarian historian Emile Reich and later by the American diplomat Robert Strausz-Hupé
, a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania
. Although Halford Mackinder had a pioneering role in the field, he actually never used the term geopolitics himself.
is characterized by the belief that life of States is similar to the one of Human beings and animals, mainly imposed by scientific determinism and darwinism
. German geopolitics will thoroughly develop the concept of Lebensraum
(vital space) supposedly necessary to the developpement of a Nation alike a favorable natural environment would be for animals.
Influenced by thinkers like Darwin
and zoologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, Ratzel’s key contribution to geopolitik
was the expansion on the biological conception of geography, without a static conception of borders. States are instead organic and growing, with borders representing only a temporary stop in their movement. It is not the state proper that is the organism, but the land in its spiritual bond with the people who draw sustenance from it. The expanse of a state’s borders is a reflection of the health of the nation
He published several papers, among which the essay Lebensraum
(1901) concerning biogeography
, creating a foundation for the uniquely German variant of geopolitics: geopolitik. Influenced by the American geostrategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, Ratzel wrote of aspirations for German naval reach, agreeing that sea power was self-sustaining, as the profit from trade would pay for the merchant marine, unlike land power.
The geopolitical theory of Friedrich Ratzel
(1844–1904) has been criticized as being too sweeping, his interpretation of human history and geography too simple and mechanistic. In his analysis of the importance of mobility, and the move from sea to rail transport, he failed to predict the revolutionary impact of air power. Critically also he underestimated the importance of social organization in the development of power.
After World War I
, the thoughts of Rudolf Kjellén
, and the term "geopolitics", which he coined, were picked up and extended by a number of German authors such as Karl Haushofer
(1869–1946), Erich Obst
, Hermann Lautensach and Otto Maull
. In 1923 Karl Haushofer
founded the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (Journal for Geopolitics), which developed as a propaganda organ for Nazi Germany
. However, more recently Haushofer's influence within the Nazi Party has been questioned (O'Tuathail, 1996) since Haushofer failed to incorporate the Nazis' racial ideology into his work. Popular views of the role of geopolitics in the Nazi Third Reich suggest a fundamental significance on the part of the geopoliticians in the ideological orientation of the Nazi state. Bassin (1987) reveals that these popular views are in important ways misleading and incorrect. Despite the numerous similarities and affinities between the two doctrines, geopolitics was always held suspect by the National Socialist ideologists. This suspicion was understandable, for the underlying philosophical orientation of geopolitics ran counter to that of National Socialism. Geopolitics, deriving from the political geography of Ratzel, shared his scientific materialism and determinism. Human society was determined by external influences, in the face of which qualities held innately by individuals or groups were of reduced or no significance. National Socialism rejected in principle both materialism and determinism and also elevated innate human qualities, in the form of a hypothesized 'racial character,' to the factor of greatest significance in the constitution of human society. These differences led after 1933 to friction and ultimately to open denunciation of geopolitics by Nazi ideologues.
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
, a frequent commentator on world naval strategic and diplomatic affairs, believed that national greatness was inextricably associated with the sea, with its commercial usage in peace and its control in war.
His goal was to discover the laws of history that determined who controlled the seas.
Mahan's theoretical framework came from Jomini, with an emphasis on strategic locations (such as chokepoints, canals, and coaling stations), as well as quantifiable levels of fighting power in a fleet.
Hungarian historian Emile Reich (1854-1910) is considered to be the first having coined the acception in english as early as 1902 and later in 1904 in his book Foundations of Modern Europe.
Mackinder
The concept of geopolitics initially gained attention through the work of Sir Halford Mackinder
in England and his formulation of the Heartland Theory which was set out in his article entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History
" in 1904. Mackinder's doctrine of geopolitics involved concepts diametrically opposed to the notion of Alfred Thayer Mahan
about the significance of navies (he coined the term sea power) in world conflict. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to remain coherent.
The basic notions of Mackinder's doctrine involve considering the geography of the Earth
as being divided into two sections, the World Island or Core, comprising Eurasia
and Africa
; and the Periphery, including the Americas
, the British Isles
, and Oceania
. Not only was the Periphery noticeably smaller than the World Island, it necessarily required much sea transport to function at the technological level of the World Island, which contained sufficient natural resources for a developed economy. Also, the industrial centers of the Periphery were necessarily located in widely separated locations. The World Island could send its navy to destroy each one of them in turn. It could locate its own industries in a region further inland than the Periphery could, so they would have a longer struggle reaching them, and would face a well-stocked industrial bastion. Mackinder called this region the Heartland. It essentially comprised Ukraine
, Western Russia
, and Mitteleuropa
(a German term for Central Europe). The Heartland contained the grain reserves of Ukraine
, and many other natural resources. Mackinder's notion of geopolitics can be summed up in his saying "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland. Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island. Who rules the World-Island commands the World." His doctrine was influential during the World Wars and the Cold War
, for Germany
and later Russia
each made territorial strides toward the Heartland.
Spykman and the Rimland
N.J. Spykman could be considered as a disciple and critic of both geostrategists Alfred Mahan, and Halford Mackinder. His work is based on assumptions similar to Mackinder: the unity of world politics, and the unity of the world sea. He extends this to include the unity of the air.
Spykman adopts Mackinder's divisions of the world, renaming some:
Since then, the word geopolitics has been applied to other theories, most notably the notion of the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
thoroughly inspired from Fernand Braudel
in Grammaire des civilisations. In a peaceable world, neither sea lanes nor surface transport are threatened; hence all countries are effectively close enough to one another physically. It is in the realm of the political ideas, workings, and cultures that there are differences, and the term has shifted more towards this arena, especially in its popular usage. Huntington’s geopolitical model, especially the structures for North Africa and Eurasia, is largely derived from the "Intermediate Region
" geopolitical model first formulated by Dimitri Kitsikis
and published in 1978.
and rejects the idea of a fixed geography, hence french geography is focused on the evolution of polymorphic territories being the result of mankind actions. It also relies in the consideration of long time periods through refusal of taking specific events into account.
This Method has been theorized by Professor Lacoste according to three principles: Representation
, Diachronie; Diatopie.
In The Spirit of the Laws
, Montesquieu outlined the view that man and societies are influenced by climate. He believed that hotter climates create hot-tempered people and colder climates aloof people, whereas the mild climate of France is ideal for political systems.
Élisée Reclus
Considered as one of the funders of french geopolitics, Reclus, is the author of a book considered as a reference in modern geography (Nouvelle Géographie universelle). Alike Ratzel, he considers geography through a global vision. However, in complete opposition to Ratzel's vision, Reclus considers geography is not unchanging, it is supposed to evolve in contingent with Human actions. His progressive political views got him rejected from the academic establisment
French
geographer
and geopolitician
Jacques Ancel
is considered to be the first theorician of geopolitics in France notably through the lectures he gave at the Carnegie foundation and his book "Géopolitique" published in 1936. Alike Reclus he rejects German determinist views on geopolitics (among which Karl Haushofer
doctrines).
Braudel's vast, panoramic view, used insights from other social sciences, employed the concept of the longue durée, and downplayed the importance of specific events. This method was inspired from the French
geographer
, Paul Vidal de la Blache
himself influenced by German thought, especially by Friedrich Ratzel
whom he had met in Germany. "Vidalian” geography is based on varied forms of cartographand to possibilism' '(funded on a societal approach of geography ie on the principle of spaces polymorphic faces depending from many factors among which mankind) as opposed to determinism.
Because of the german Geopolitik influence on french Geopolitics, the latter were for a long time banished from academic works, often considered to be a nazi science.
In the mid-1970's, Professeur Yves Lacoste
a French
geographer
who was directly inspired by Ancel, Braudel and Vidal de la Blache will create l'Institut Français de Géopolitique (French Institute for Geopolitics) that publish a journal called Herodote, known to be the first review that applies geopolitical principles to its analyses on global as well as local issues.
In his work, Lacoste set a system of academic principle. According to Lacoste every issue (conflictual situation whether it is local or global) is to be apprehended through three key notions:
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
Γη (earth) and Πολιτική (politics) in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale.
It comprises the art and practice of analyzing, proscribing, forecasting, and the using of political power over a given territory. Specifically, is a method of foreign policy analysis, which seeks to understand, explain and predict international political behaviour primarily in terms of geographical variables. Those geographical variables generally are: geographic location of the country/ies in question, size of the countries involved, climate of the region the countries are in, topography of the region, demography, natural resources available in the territory, technological development.
Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass wider connotations.
In the abstract, geopolitics traditionally indicates the links and causal relationships between political power and geographic space; in concrete terms it is often seen as a body of thought assaying specific strategic prescriptions based on the relative importance of land power and sea power in world history... The geopolitical tradition had some consistent concerns, like the geopolitical correlates of power in world politics, the identification of international core areas, and the relationships between naval and terrestrial capabilities.
Academically, the study of geopolitics involves the analysis of geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and social science with reference to spatial politics
Spatial politics
Spatial politics refers to the use of spatial terms to simplify and dramatize political differences and actions.Thus left-wing politics oppose right-wing politics -- after the seating habits on the left and right sides of French assemblies in the late 18th century.Also from France comes the...
and patterns at various scales (ranging from the level of the state to international). It is multidisciplinary in its scope, and includes all aspects of the social sciences with particular emphasis on political geography, international relations, the territorial aspects of political science and international law. Also, the study of geopolitics includes the study of the ensemble of relations between the interests of international political actors, interests focused to an area, space, geographical element or ways, relations which create a geopolitical system.
Main schools and doctrines
The term was coined at the beginning of the 20th century by Rudolf KjellénRudolf Kjellén
Johan Rudolf Kjellén was a Swedish political scientist and politician who first coined the term "geopolitics". His work was influenced by Friedrich Ratzel...
(1864–1922), a Swedish political scientist, inspired by the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for first using the term Lebensraum in the sense that the National Socialists later would.-Life:...
, whose book Politische Geographie (political geography
Political geography
Political geography is the field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures...
) was published in 1897. It was later popularized in English by the hungarian historian Emile Reich and later by the American diplomat Robert Strausz-Hupé
Robert Strausz-Hupé
Robert Strausz-Hupé was a U.S. diplomat and geopolitician.In 1923 he immigrated to the United States. Serving as an advisor on foreign investment to American financial institutions, he watched the Depression spread political misery across America and Europe...
, a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. Although Halford Mackinder had a pioneering role in the field, he actually never used the term geopolitics himself.
German Geopolitik
German GeopolitikGeopolitik
Geopolitik is the branch of uniquely German geostrategy. It developed as a distinct strain of thought after Otto von Bismarck's unification of the German states but began its development in earnest only under Emperor Wilhelm II...
is characterized by the belief that life of States is similar to the one of Human beings and animals, mainly imposed by scientific determinism and darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
. German geopolitics will thoroughly develop the concept of Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
(vital space) supposedly necessary to the developpement of a Nation alike a favorable natural environment would be for animals.
Ratzel
Influenced by thinkers like Darwin
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:* Charles Darwin , English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection* Darwin, Northern Territory, a capital city in Australia- People:...
and zoologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, Ratzel’s key contribution to geopolitik
Geopolitik
Geopolitik is the branch of uniquely German geostrategy. It developed as a distinct strain of thought after Otto von Bismarck's unification of the German states but began its development in earnest only under Emperor Wilhelm II...
was the expansion on the biological conception of geography, without a static conception of borders. States are instead organic and growing, with borders representing only a temporary stop in their movement. It is not the state proper that is the organism, but the land in its spiritual bond with the people who draw sustenance from it. The expanse of a state’s borders is a reflection of the health of the nation
He published several papers, among which the essay Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
(1901) concerning biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
, creating a foundation for the uniquely German variant of geopolitics: geopolitik. Influenced by the American geostrategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, Ratzel wrote of aspirations for German naval reach, agreeing that sea power was self-sustaining, as the profit from trade would pay for the merchant marine, unlike land power.
The geopolitical theory of Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for first using the term Lebensraum in the sense that the National Socialists later would.-Life:...
(1844–1904) has been criticized as being too sweeping, his interpretation of human history and geography too simple and mechanistic. In his analysis of the importance of mobility, and the move from sea to rail transport, he failed to predict the revolutionary impact of air power. Critically also he underestimated the importance of social organization in the development of power.
The association of German Geopolitiks with Nazism
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the thoughts of Rudolf Kjellén
Rudolf Kjellén
Johan Rudolf Kjellén was a Swedish political scientist and politician who first coined the term "geopolitics". His work was influenced by Friedrich Ratzel...
, and the term "geopolitics", which he coined, were picked up and extended by a number of German authors such as Karl Haushofer
Karl Haushofer
Karl Ernst Haushofer was a German general, geographer and geopolitician. Through his student Rudolf Hess, Haushofer's ideas may have influenced the development of Adolf Hitler's expansionist strategies, although Haushofer denied direct influence on the Nazi regime.-Biography:Haushofer belonged to...
(1869–1946), Erich Obst
Erich Obst
Erich Obst was a German geographer and geopolitician. Between 1924 and 1944 he was the editor of the German geopolitical magazine "Zeitschrift fur Geopolitik"....
, Hermann Lautensach and Otto Maull
Otto Maull
Otto Maull was a German geographer and geopolitician. He taught human geography at University of Graz, in Austria. Author of several books ....
. In 1923 Karl Haushofer
Karl Haushofer
Karl Ernst Haushofer was a German general, geographer and geopolitician. Through his student Rudolf Hess, Haushofer's ideas may have influenced the development of Adolf Hitler's expansionist strategies, although Haushofer denied direct influence on the Nazi regime.-Biography:Haushofer belonged to...
founded the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (Journal for Geopolitics), which developed as a propaganda organ for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. However, more recently Haushofer's influence within the Nazi Party has been questioned (O'Tuathail, 1996) since Haushofer failed to incorporate the Nazis' racial ideology into his work. Popular views of the role of geopolitics in the Nazi Third Reich suggest a fundamental significance on the part of the geopoliticians in the ideological orientation of the Nazi state. Bassin (1987) reveals that these popular views are in important ways misleading and incorrect. Despite the numerous similarities and affinities between the two doctrines, geopolitics was always held suspect by the National Socialist ideologists. This suspicion was understandable, for the underlying philosophical orientation of geopolitics ran counter to that of National Socialism. Geopolitics, deriving from the political geography of Ratzel, shared his scientific materialism and determinism. Human society was determined by external influences, in the face of which qualities held innately by individuals or groups were of reduced or no significance. National Socialism rejected in principle both materialism and determinism and also elevated innate human qualities, in the form of a hypothesized 'racial character,' to the factor of greatest significance in the constitution of human society. These differences led after 1933 to friction and ultimately to open denunciation of geopolitics by Nazi ideologues.
Alfred Thayer MahanAlfred Thayer MahanAlfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
and the sea power
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
, a frequent commentator on world naval strategic and diplomatic affairs, believed that national greatness was inextricably associated with the sea, with its commercial usage in peace and its control in war.
His goal was to discover the laws of history that determined who controlled the seas.
Mahan's theoretical framework came from Jomini, with an emphasis on strategic locations (such as chokepoints, canals, and coaling stations), as well as quantifiable levels of fighting power in a fleet.
Emile Reich
Hungarian historian Emile Reich (1854-1910) is considered to be the first having coined the acception in english as early as 1902 and later in 1904 in his book Foundations of Modern Europe.
MackinderMackinderMackinder may refer to:* Halford Mackinder , English geographer* William Mackinder , British Labour Party politician...
and the Heartland theory
Halford John Mackinder
Sir Halford John Mackinder PC was an English geographer and is considered one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy.-Early life and education:...
in England and his formulation of the Heartland Theory which was set out in his article entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History
The Geographical Pivot of History
"The Geographical Pivot of History" was an article submitted by Halford John Mackinder in 1904 to the Royal Geographical Society that advanced his Heartland Theory...
" in 1904. Mackinder's doctrine of geopolitics involved concepts diametrically opposed to the notion of Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
about the significance of navies (he coined the term sea power) in world conflict. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to remain coherent.
The basic notions of Mackinder's doctrine involve considering the geography of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
as being divided into two sections, the World Island or Core, comprising Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
; and the Periphery, including the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. Not only was the Periphery noticeably smaller than the World Island, it necessarily required much sea transport to function at the technological level of the World Island, which contained sufficient natural resources for a developed economy. Also, the industrial centers of the Periphery were necessarily located in widely separated locations. The World Island could send its navy to destroy each one of them in turn. It could locate its own industries in a region further inland than the Periphery could, so they would have a longer struggle reaching them, and would face a well-stocked industrial bastion. Mackinder called this region the Heartland. It essentially comprised Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Western Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa is the German term equal to Central Europe. The word has political, geographic and cultural meaning. While it describes a geographical location, it also is the word denoting a political concept of a German-dominated and exploited Central European union that was put into motion during...
(a German term for Central Europe). The Heartland contained the grain reserves of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and many other natural resources. Mackinder's notion of geopolitics can be summed up in his saying "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland. Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island. Who rules the World-Island commands the World." His doctrine was influential during the World Wars and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and later Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
each made territorial strides toward the Heartland.
Spykman and the RimlandRimlandRimland is a concept championed by Nicholas John Spykman to describe the maritime fringe of a country or continent; in particular, the densely populated western, southern, and eastern edges of the Eurasian continent....
N.J. Spykman could be considered as a disciple and critic of both geostrategists Alfred Mahan, and Halford Mackinder. His work is based on assumptions similar to Mackinder: the unity of world politics, and the unity of the world sea. He extends this to include the unity of the air.
Spykman adopts Mackinder's divisions of the world, renaming some:
- the HeartlandHeartland- Education :* Heartland Baptist Bible College, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma* Heartland Community College, in Illinois* Heartland Elementary School, public school, Kansas- Film :* Heartland , a 1979 film starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell...
; - the RimlandRimlandRimland is a concept championed by Nicholas John Spykman to describe the maritime fringe of a country or continent; in particular, the densely populated western, southern, and eastern edges of the Eurasian continent....
(analogous to Mackinder's "inner or marginal crescent" also an intermediate region, lying between the heartland and the marginal sea powers); and - the Offshore Islands & Continents (Mackinder's "outer or insular crescent").
Huntington
Since then, the word geopolitics has been applied to other theories, most notably the notion of the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
thoroughly inspired from Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel was a French historian and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects, each representing several decades of intense study: The Mediterranean , Civilization and Capitalism , and the unfinished Identity of France...
in Grammaire des civilisations. In a peaceable world, neither sea lanes nor surface transport are threatened; hence all countries are effectively close enough to one another physically. It is in the realm of the political ideas, workings, and cultures that there are differences, and the term has shifted more towards this arena, especially in its popular usage. Huntington’s geopolitical model, especially the structures for North Africa and Eurasia, is largely derived from the "Intermediate Region
Intermediate Region
An established geopolitical model set forth in the 1970s by the Greek historian Dimitri Kitsikis, professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada. According to this model, the Eurasian continent is composed of not only two civilisational regions, that is, Western and Eastern , but also a third...
" geopolitical model first formulated by Dimitri Kitsikis
Dimitri Kitsikis
Dimitri Kitsikis is a Greek Turkologist, Professor of International Relations and Geopolitics. He has also published poetry in French and Greek.-Life:D...
and published in 1978.
French approach on geopolitics
French doctrines mainly relies in opposition to German GeopolitikGeopolitik
Geopolitik is the branch of uniquely German geostrategy. It developed as a distinct strain of thought after Otto von Bismarck's unification of the German states but began its development in earnest only under Emperor Wilhelm II...
and rejects the idea of a fixed geography, hence french geography is focused on the evolution of polymorphic territories being the result of mankind actions. It also relies in the consideration of long time periods through refusal of taking specific events into account.
This Method has been theorized by Professor Lacoste according to three principles: Representation
Representation
Representation can refer to:* Representation , one's ability to influence the political process* Representative democracy* Representation, a type of diplomatic mission...
, Diachronie; Diatopie.
Montesqieu
In The Spirit of the Laws
The Spirit of the Laws
The Spirit of the Laws is a treatise on political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu in 1748 with the help of Claudine Guérin de Tencin...
, Montesquieu outlined the view that man and societies are influenced by climate. He believed that hotter climates create hot-tempered people and colder climates aloof people, whereas the mild climate of France is ideal for political systems.
Élisée ReclusÉlisée ReclusÉlisée Reclus , also known as Jacques Élisée Reclus, was a renowned French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes , over a period of nearly 20 years...
Considered as one of the funders of french geopolitics, Reclus, is the author of a book considered as a reference in modern geography (Nouvelle Géographie universelle). Alike Ratzel, he considers geography through a global vision. However, in complete opposition to Ratzel's vision, Reclus considers geography is not unchanging, it is supposed to evolve in contingent with Human actions. His progressive political views got him rejected from the academic establisment
Jacques Ancel
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
and geopolitician
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
Jacques Ancel
Jacques Ancel
Jacques Ancel was a French geographer and geopolitician. He is author of several books, including Peoples and Nations of Balkans: political geography and Geopolitics ....
is considered to be the first theorician of geopolitics in France notably through the lectures he gave at the Carnegie foundation and his book "Géopolitique" published in 1936. Alike Reclus he rejects German determinist views on geopolitics (among which Karl Haushofer
Karl Haushofer
Karl Ernst Haushofer was a German general, geographer and geopolitician. Through his student Rudolf Hess, Haushofer's ideas may have influenced the development of Adolf Hitler's expansionist strategies, although Haushofer denied direct influence on the Nazi regime.-Biography:Haushofer belonged to...
doctrines).
Fernand Braudel, Vidal de la Blache and the temps longs
Braudel's vast, panoramic view, used insights from other social sciences, employed the concept of the longue durée, and downplayed the importance of specific events. This method was inspired from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
geographer
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, Paul Vidal de la Blache
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Paul Vidal de la Blache was a French geographer. He is considered to be the founder of the modern French geography and also the founder of the French School of Geopolitics...
himself influenced by German thought, especially by Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for first using the term Lebensraum in the sense that the National Socialists later would.-Life:...
whom he had met in Germany. "Vidalian” geography is based on varied forms of cartographand to possibilism' '(funded on a societal approach of geography ie on the principle of spaces polymorphic faces depending from many factors among which mankind) as opposed to determinism.
Lacoste and the rebirth of french geopolitics
Because of the german Geopolitik influence on french Geopolitics, the latter were for a long time banished from academic works, often considered to be a nazi science.
In the mid-1970's, Professeur Yves Lacoste
Yves Lacoste
Yves Lacoste is a French geographer and geopolitician. He was born in Fes, Morocco. In 1976 he established the French geopolitical journal "Hérodote"...
a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
who was directly inspired by Ancel, Braudel and Vidal de la Blache will create l'Institut Français de Géopolitique (French Institute for Geopolitics) that publish a journal called Herodote, known to be the first review that applies geopolitical principles to its analyses on global as well as local issues.
In his work, Lacoste set a system of academic principle. According to Lacoste every issue (conflictual situation whether it is local or global) is to be apprehended through three key notions:
- Representation: Each group or individuals is the product of an education, thus, views regarding every issues are oriented, being the product of their beliefs education ethnic group... Therefore one should analyse the representations of the forces in presence with distance in order to understand their motivations and revendications.
- Diachronie: diachronic analyse is a tool that allows to conduct a Braudelian analyse (ie through long period of time)
- Diatopie: diatopic analyse is a tool that allows to conduct a cartographic survey through a multiscale mapping.
See also
- AstropoliticsAstropoliticsAstropolitics also known as Astropolitik has its foundations in Geopolitics and is a theory that is used for Space in its broadest sense.Astropolitics encompasses Astropolitik, Astrostrategy and Astrographics....
- BalkanizationBalkanizationBalkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.The term refers to the...
- Cartographic propagandaCartographic propagandaCartographic propaganda is a difficult concept to define . In place of a clear definition, we can approach the concept through the book "Persuasive Cartography" by J.A. Tyner. In the book "Persuasive Cartography", Tyner argues propaganda maps are one of three types of maps that is understood as...
- Critical geopoliticsCritical geopoliticsThe basic concept behind Geopolitics is that intellectuals of statecraft construct ideas about places, these ideas have influence and reinforce their political behaviors and policy choices, and these ideas affect how we, the people, process our own notions of places and politics.Critical...
- GeopolitikGeopolitikGeopolitik is the branch of uniquely German geostrategy. It developed as a distinct strain of thought after Otto von Bismarck's unification of the German states but began its development in earnest only under Emperor Wilhelm II...
- GeojurisprudenceGeojurisprudenceGeojurisprudence is "a systemic approach to the connections of legal science to geography and geopolitics" Geojurisprudence is "a systemic approach to the connections of legal science to geography and geopolitics" Geojurisprudence is "a systemic approach to the connections of legal science to...
- GeostrategyGeostrategyGeostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning...
- Geostrategy in Central AsiaGeostrategy in Central AsiaCentral Asia has long been a geostrategic location because of its proximity to the interests of several great powers.-Strategic geography:...
- LebensraumLebensraumwas one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
- Natural gasNatural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and list of natural gas fields and Category:Natural gas pipelines - Petroleum politicsPetroleum politicsPetroleum politics have been an increasingly important aspect of diplomacy since the rise of the petroleum industry in the Middle East in the early 20th century...
- Political geographyPolitical geographyPolitical geography is the field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures...
- RealpolitikRealpolitikRealpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...
- Space geostrategySpace geostrategyGeostrategy in space deals with the strategic considerations of location and resources in outer space territory. In essence, it is the study of the strategic application of resources to the geography of space...
- Sphere of InfluenceSphere of influenceIn the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
- Strategic depthStrategic depthStrategic depth is a term in military literature that broadly refers to the distances between the front lines or battle sectors and the combatants’ industrial core areas, capital cities, heartlands, and other key centers of population or military production...
- Theopolitics
- Water politicsWater politicsWater politics, sometimes called hydropolitics, is politics affected by the availability of water and water resources, a necessity for all life forms and human development...
External links
- International Geopolitics Reporters Association (I.G.R.A.) International association of professionals specialized in geopolitics.
- European network of geopolitical thinking